1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to golf clubs and, more particularly, to an improved golf putter having a club head with a body and a forward ball striking surface, the body including a weight-receiving pocket formed in an upper surface of the body with a weight mounting device mounted within the weight-receiving pocket, and at least one club head weight removably mounted within the weight-receiving pocket of the body of the club head by the weight mounting device, the club head weight including club head alignment indicia on the top face of the club head weight operative to provide visual alignment cues for ball striking, thereby increasing ball alignment and feel in the putting stroke.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that, to improve one's golf game, one must become more proficient on and around the green, which is commonly referred to as “working on the short game.” One of the most critical aspects of the short game is one's proficiency with the putting stroke, which must be mastered in order to fully realize one's potential for improvement. There are hundreds of types of putters which are currently produced, each of which are designed to assist the golfer in improving his or her putting stroke. These include putters with perimeter weighting devices mounted on the head of the putter, putters with extended shafts such as belly putters and many other types of putters too numerous to discuss. However, regardless of the putter used and the player's skill level, putting essentially reduces to two specific elements, proper alignment of the putter and the proper swing speed to impart the appropriate speed to the golf ball. Of course, mastering these two elements requires a lifetime of work and, therefore, any assistance provided by the equipment itself is more than appreciated.
Many different types of putters have been proposed which attempt to provide alignment and feel-improving systems, including such patents as Hamilton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,825, which is directed to a putter having an acoustic chamber for assisting in the correct ball striking during the putting stroke, Norman, 3, U.S. Pat. No. 6,638,181, which discloses a golf club putter having a convex complexly contoured ball impact surface and a high bridge that extends lengthwise at the face of the putter to join the heel and toe, and Wu, U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,680, in which the center of gravity of the putter head is shifted behind the striking surface and the weight of the putter head is shifted to both its ends. As can be seen, numerous types of putter heads have been proposed in the prior art in attempts to address and solve the fundamental problem of putter control, yet this problem remains unsolved for many golfers.
It is well known that the weight of the putter head can make a major difference in the smoothness of the putting stroke, which can directly affect the ability of the golfer to make putts. However, the appropriate head weight for the putter should generally be determined on an individual basis, as it is clear that a 28-year old professional golfer and a 70-year old grandmother should not and would not have the same putter club head weight. There is therefore a need for an easy to use system in which the weight of the putter head may be modified or changed according to the desires, strength and skill level of the golfer, or even according to the golf course conditions and green speed.
Another desirable feature for a putter is to include various types of alignment indicia on the putter to assist in the alignment of the putter with the golf ball and desired direction of the putting stroke. There are numerous types of alignment indicia which are found in the prior art, but one of the main problems with those alignment indicia is that once they are printed on the surface of the putter head, the indicia cannot be changed or modified. Just as is the case with the weight of the putter head, the alignment indicia desired by various golfers may differ, and therefore there is a need for an easily changeable alignment indicia system which permits rapid and efficient substitution of the alignment indicia on the golf club head.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf putter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf putter for increasing alignment and feel in the putting stroke, which includes a club head having a body and a forward ball striking surface, the club head having a weight-receiving pocket formed in an upper surface thereof with at least one club head weight removably mounted within the weight-receiving pocket, the club head weight including club head alignment indicia on the top face thereof to provide visual alignment cures for ball striking.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf putter in which the club head weights have different weights and would also include variations in heel and toe weight distribution to provide the golfer with maximum controllability of the putter head via the use of selected weight designs.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf putter in which various club head weights include various club head alignment indicia, including circles, lines, and arrows, for example, so that the golfer may use the desired alignment indicia with his or her putter head.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf putter in which the club head weight is quickly and easily removable and replaceable to permit the golfer to make adjustments to the putter head weight and alignment indicia thereon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf putter which is U.S.G.A. approved.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf putter which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is safe, efficient, and durable in use.